All Blog Posts (253)

Ice Meadows

(N)ice Meadows

Now that the weather has finally warmed up, we can appreciate ice a little more. Among other things, ice greatly improves summertime drinks, and an icy watermelon is hands-down better than a warm one. And in this part of the world, ice also provides us with unique wildflower meadows. Along stretches of riverbank in the southern Adirondacks, rare Arctic-type flowers are blooming now in the fragile slices of native grasslands that are meticulously groomed each year by the…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on June 11, 2019 at 8:37am — No Comments

Perennial Pet Peeves

Local Volcanoes



When you think about it, landscape trees have a rough life. Firstly they don’t get to choose their neighborhood, whether good, bad or indifferent. Depending where they are planted, they may need to contend with helpful watering by territorial dogs, materials-testing by energetic kids, entanglements with errant kites, or other issues.



Rooted in one spot day in and day out, year after year, they suffer from – well, boredom, I imagine. And from restricted root… Continue

Added by Paul J Hetzler on May 28, 2019 at 7:51pm — No Comments

Developing an Understanding of Carbon Sequestration

Grown in Britain support for Committee on Climate Change Report

"The report recommends:

• Afforestation of around 30,000 hectares per year (increasing woodland cover from the current 13% of UK land area to 17%), combining this with an increase in active woodland management, increases the net forestry…

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Added by Lew Ward on May 26, 2019 at 10:18am — No Comments

Firewood 4 Charity

NYFOA's WFL chapter F4C initiative received a nice load of split and debarked ash from Wagner Hardwood this week.  Volunteer watch your e-mails for the dates and times of upcoming workdays. 

Added by Dave Keebler on May 18, 2019 at 3:48pm — No Comments

Helping Trees Recover from Flooding

Most Things in Moderation

As a teenager, my son had a saying, whether original or borrowed I don’t know (the saying, that is), which went something like “All things in moderation. Especially moderation.” It would seem Mother Nature took that to heart, and dispensed with moderate rainfall and snow melt this spring. If not her, then maybe it was Creepy Uncle Climate Change. At any rate, the resultant flooding has been heartbreaking to observe.

While I am of course sensitive to…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on May 6, 2019 at 1:20pm — No Comments

A New Silent Spring: Where Are the Turkeys?

A New Silent Spring: Where Are the Turkeys?

"That habitat is declining, including on our national forests. The acreage of timber harvested on federal land has fallen dramatically in the last 30 years, thanks mostly to environmentalists. The mere mention of cutting a tree in a national forest is often met with a lawsuit, even though timber harvest ultimately results in outstanding wildlife habitat. Even private landowners are cutting fewer trees.

Those that do often replace…

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Added by Lew Ward on May 6, 2019 at 8:47am — No Comments

Happy Tree Day!

Plant a Legacy on Arbor Day

Muskrat Week. Velcro Month. Arbor Day. You know it’s an obscure event when the greeting-card trade hasn’t bothered to capitalize on it. While not the best-known observance, Arbor Day has a respectable history, as well as a local connection.

Rooted in northern NY, Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday in April. J. Sterling Morton of Adams, NY germinated the concept in 1872 to highlight the need to conserve topsoil and increase timber in his adopted…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on April 25, 2019 at 2:02pm — No Comments

Geographical Sciences researchers develop new system to map MD forests’ potential to store carbon in the future

Geographical Sciences researchers develop new system to map MD forests’ potential to store carbon in the future

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Added by Lew Ward on April 22, 2019 at 12:42pm — No Comments

Developing an understanding of Carbon Sequestration-Northeastern Woodlands

Developing an Understanding of Carbon Sequestration-Northeastern Woodlands

It was suggested by Brett Chedzoy that I develop a blog on the issue of carbon sequestration as it applied to forests and forest management decisions. Much of the emerging forestry science on the subject is counter-intuitive and perhaps that is what leads to the confusion. The other confusing issues are  that carbon production/release, carbon sequestration, and climate change are…

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Added by Lew Ward on April 9, 2019 at 2:39pm — No Comments

Developing an understanding of Carbon Sequestration-Northeastern Woodlands

Carbon sequestration: Managing forests in uncertain times. Valentin Bellassen & Sebastiaan Luyssaert…

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Added by Lew Ward on April 9, 2019 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Update on Oak Wilt, HWA, Lanternfly & Asian Earthworm Class 03/29: DEC Credit Approved

If anyone needs DEC pesticide Credits, this course was just approved for NYSDEC Pesticide Credits as follows:

5.50 in Categories 2, 3a, 9 and 10;

4.50 in Category 25;

3.00 in 6a;

1.00 in 1a.

ISA CEU Credit also pre-approved.

See sidebar under Upcoming Events for details.

 

Added by Paul J Hetzler on March 22, 2019 at 3:55pm — No Comments

Common Trees of New Hampshire and the North Woods -- Black Cherry

  • Sample Location: Swamps near Dodge Pond in Lyman
  • Scientific Name: Prunus serotina

The black cherry tree is widely distributed in the eastern half of North America.  It grows everywhere in the United States east of the Mississippi River, except for the lower portion of that river valley itself, far northern Maine, and south of Lake Okeechobee in Florida.  It can also be found in the Canadian Maritimes, the Midwest as far west as eastern Kansas and…

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Added by Ely McLaughlin on March 12, 2019 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Choosing Good Landscape Trees

Unnatural Selection

Paul Hetzler

After a winter fraught with temperature swings, ice and near-record cold such as this past one, being able to finally plant things outdoors is especially welcome. While flowers can be dug up and replanted around the yard much like arranging the lawn furniture, it is different with trees.

Consider that the act of planting a tree is in many ways a transcendent one. Sure, a new tree will give us shade, beauty, energy savings and increased…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on March 9, 2019 at 10:23am — No Comments

Common Trees of New Hampshire and the North Woods

About a year ago, I started a paper, which attempts to describe all the trees found in New Hampshire, my home state.  I started this project as a school project, where I would just observe trees and their habitats and write what I saw, but it quickly morphed into an informal research paper focused on silvics and commercial uses of the described…

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Added by Ely McLaughlin on February 25, 2019 at 5:30pm — 3 Comments

Preventing Root Damage in Forests and Landscapes

The Root of the Problem



It may not look like it at now, but mud season is right around the corner. In towns and villages, spring involves returning songbirds, blooming flowers, and a birth-frenzy of construction projects fresh off their winter-long gestation.



But "construction damage" does not only apply to human landscapes. In rural areas, maple production often brings tractors into the woods during mud season, and timber harvests may continue even during the period… Continue

Added by Paul J Hetzler on February 25, 2019 at 6:18am — No Comments

Tree Pruning Workshop in St. Lawrence County on March 20 2019

Tree Pruning Workshop

Or:

Neglecting Young Trees Leads to Delinquency!

When: Wednesday, March 20, 2019 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Where: St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES Learning Center, 40 West Main Street, Canton

Agenda:

9:30: Registration

10:00 to 10:45:Tree Wound Response & Compartmentalization

10:45 to 11:15: Trees and Threes—The Commandments of Pruning

11:15 to 12:00: Why We Prune, & Reality…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on February 9, 2019 at 7:13pm — No Comments

Chocolate Trees for Valentine's Day

Love Trees

Generally speaking, I love trees, even those I must admire from a distance, such as the love-tree, a.k.a. the cacao, Theobroma cacao, from which chocolate is derived. Not only is chocolate associated with romance—most notably on Valentine’s Day—it can potentially help us feel more lovey-dovey thanks to some of the chemicals the tree produces.

Native to Central America, the cacao tree grows almost exclusively within about twenty degrees latitude either side of the…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on February 5, 2019 at 3:50pm — No Comments

Class on Invasive Forest Pests

Emerging Invasive Forest Pests: Identification, Prevention & Management

When: Wednesday, January 16, 2019 9:00 AM until 3:30 PM

Where: St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES Center, Classroom A, 40 West Main Street, Canton NY

Cost: $10.00 Includes lunch and materials.

Pre-registration required; please call (315) 379-9192. For information, email…

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Added by Paul J Hetzler on December 20, 2018 at 5:10pm — No Comments

Timber Taxes

Many woodland owners harvest timber, yet wonder how to handle (optimize) the tax liability.  The "go to" website is www.timbertax.org

Another resource is from the USFS Timber Tax team and their annual timber tax "tips" attached here  TaxTips2018.pdf

Added by Peter Smallidge on November 20, 2018 at 12:46pm — No Comments

New Smithsonian Study Links Declines in Suburban Backyard Birds to Presence of Nonnative Plants

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/news/new-smithsonian-study-links-declines-suburban-backyard-birds-presence-nonnative-plants?fbclid=IwAR0v_un3xd1Bl3QBF0sIxrJ0tcTtkIgjkTOMdaIQSGGn3e_pH_KGWyChQCw

Added by Lew Ward on November 17, 2018 at 7:57pm — No Comments

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Looking for white mulberry trees for research

Started by Connor Youngerman in Agroforestry Aug 14. 0 Replies

Greetings forestry ning communities! My name is Connor Youngerman, and I’m an extension support specialist at the Cornell Small Farms Program; my focus is agroforestry and mushroom production. We are currently working on a research grant to…Continue

How to get rid of buckthorn

Started by Randy Williams in Woodlot Management. Last reply by John McNerney Aug 2. 3 Replies

I have some property where the best timber was harvested several years before I purchased it.  There are now many areas where the buckthorn is so thick that nothing will grow under it.  I am looking for suggestions on how to get these areas back…Continue

Small-Scale Logging

Started by Peter Smallidge in Project Profiles. Last reply by John McNerney Apr 15. 4 Replies

Small-Scale Logging: Sugarbush and Woodlot Management Issue:  Many woodlot owners and maple syrup producers want to be more active in gathering logs or firewood from their property.  Often there are too few acres or too few trees to attract a…Continue

Tags: yourself, harvesting, woodlot, management, it

Replanting after timber harvest with climate change in mind

Started by Ben T. in Woodlot Management. Last reply by Patrik Schumann Mar 26. 1 Reply

Hi Everyone,I’ve been wondering what tree species are going to thrive over the next 50+ years as the climate warms in New York and I’m curious if folks are enhancing plantings of particular tree species for future commercial harvest with warmer and…Continue

Rust Colored Hemlock Bark

Started by Carl Albers in Woodlot Management Dec 31, 2023. 0 Replies

Picture of a hemlock with rust colored bark.  When I cut a nearby tree, also with rust colored bark, it was infested with HWA.  Attached picture shows a Logrite ATV arch in use.Continue

Rust Colored Hemlock Bark

Started by Carl Albers in Woodlot Management Dec 31, 2023. 0 Replies

The hemlocks in my woodlots have been infested with hemlock wooley adelgid (HWA) for at least three years now.  Lately I've noticed some of them having a rust colored bark and I wonder if this is normal and that I just didn't notice it previously? …Continue

How to control mature white pine and hemlock to allow enrichment planting of hardwoods

Started by Peter Smallidge in Woodlot Management Nov 28, 2023. 0 Replies

I had a question about control of mature white pine and hemlock to improve sunlight for enrichment planting of hardwoods.  Following is my response, but I would like to know if anyone else has any experiences to share with control of these to…Continue

Story in Northern Woodlands Magazine on Deer Impacts

Started by Brett Chedzoy in Woodlot Management Aug 8, 2023. 0 Replies

This Spring we had an opportunity to speak with writer John Litvaitis about the big picture of deer impacts on the hardwood forests of the Northeast.  I posted the original story from the summer edition of Northern Woodlands to the…Continue

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